India to sign Paris accord on climate change

In a historic decision, Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval for signing the Paris Agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of Parties held in Paris in December last year. Following the Cabinet approval, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar will sign the Paris accord, which has been adopted by more than 190 countries, on Friday in New York at a ceremony convened by Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.

The Paris Agreement on climate change is a milestone in global climate cooperation as it acknowledges the development imperatives of developing countries and recognises the developing countries’ right to development, their efforts to harmonize development with environment.

India had advocated a strong and durable climate agreement based on the principles and provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the agreement addresses all the important ‘concerns and expectations’ of India.

A record number of more than 150 countries are expected to sign the ‘historic’ Paris agreement in New York. A UN body had earlier said that this record number of countries would surpass the previous record of 119 signatures for an opening day signing for an international agreement, set by the Law of the Sea in Montego Bay in 1994.